This is the formula you need to figure out the protein % of your “homemade” feed mix:
First, you will need to gather some information. Get the % of protein for each of your feed mix ingredients (this is the amount of protein in each pound of feed), and the amount of pounds you feed of each ingredient. As an example, I will use my current mix:
1 pound Organic whole grain barley (from Wisconson): 14% protein
4 pound Organic whole oats: 12%
1 pound Black Oil Sunflower Seeds (aka BOSS): 13%
Now you are ready to do the math! YAY! 😛
Take the % of Protein and multiply it by the amount of pounds in the mix for each ingredient. For instance:
Barley: 1 x 14 = 14
Oats: 4 x 12 = 48
BOSS: 1 x 13 = 13
Add the totals of each ingredient together:
Barley: 14
Oats: 48
BOSS: +13
75
Now, to figure out the protein % PER POUND in your mix, divide that total (75) by the amount of pounds in your mix (1# barley + 4# oats + 1# BOSS = 6#). 75 divided by 6 = 12.5% that is the Protein % of your mix in each pound. 😀 Pretty neat, huh?!
I want the protein % per pound in the feed mix for my dairy goats to be between 12% and 14%.
